Reported Nov 13, 1:10 AM PSTBuoy 46053

East Santa Barbara - 12NM Southwest of Santa Barbara, CA

Name: East Santa Barbara - 12NM Southwest of Santa Barbara, CA buoy 46053 wave observations
Creator: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC)
License: https://www.usa.gov/government-works

California, United States

Last wave reading: Nov 13, 1:10 AM PST

Now at the buoy

Significant wave height at the buoy

8.5 ft

2.6 m

Dominant period: —
Direction: from WNW 293°

Swell

8.5 ft2.6 m

17 sfrom WNW 293°

Wind waves

1.3 ft0.4 m

3.6 sfrom SW 225°

Long-period groundswell leads: 8.5 ft at 17 s from the WNW, with 1.3 ft of wind waves at 3.6 s from the SW on top. Building over the last 6 hours, up 2.2 ft.

Significant wave height is the average of the biggest third of waves at the buoy. It is not surf height at a beach.

Trend at the buoy

Height at the buoy

Total (significant height)
Swell
Wind waves

Period

Swell period
Wind-wave period

Hourly means of the buoy's readings. Arrows point the way the waves travel.

Model vs the buoy

Buoy, hourly
Model, past days
Model forecast

Over the last 5 days, the model ran 14% low against the buoy.

Model peak each day at the buoy
Day	Height	Peak period	From
Fri, Nov 13	7.5 ft	13 s	W
Sat, Nov 14	10.9 ft	17 s	WNW
Sun, Nov 15	9.2 ft	16 s	W
Mon, Nov 16	9.1 ft	16 s	WNW
Tue, Nov 17	8.7 ft	15 s	WNW
Wed, Nov 18	6.0 ft	12 s	W
Thu, Nov 19	4.9 ft	9 s	W

ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (34.250°N, 119.750°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.

Beaches whose Quiver forecast uses this buoy

Campus Point (UCSB)18 km
Quiver forecast now: 6-7ft
Mesa Lane20 km
Quiver forecast now: 5-6ft
Leadbetter22 km
Quiver forecast now: 0-1ft

Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.

Nearby buoys

West Santa Barbara 38 NM West of Santa Barbara, CA12.1 ft · 15 sLive · 58 km
Santa Cruz Basin, CA5.9 ft · 15 sLive · 59 km
South Santa Rosa - 14 NM SW of Santa Rosa Island, CA11.2 ftLive · 75 km
Santa Monica Basin - 33NM WSW of Santa Monica, CA4.9 ftLive · 89 km
Harvest, CA12.1 ft · 17 sLive · 89 km
San Nicolas Island, CA12.5 ft · 15 sLive · 114 km

Nearest tide station: Santa Barbara 22 km for today’s highs and lows.

How to read this buoy

East Santa Barbara - 12NM Southwest of Santa Barbara, CA sits 18 km from the closest beach listed here: near enough to show what is arriving, far enough that islands, points and the seabed still change it before it breaks.

Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the W.

Biggest hourly reading in that record: 8.9 ft at 15 s on Nov 9.

Station id: 46053
Operator: NDBC
Program: NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
Position: 34.246°N, 119.842°W
Type: Moored buoy
Local time zone: America/Los_Angeles
Swell split: Yes, swell and wind waves reported

Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). Licence: Public domain (US government work). Station page at the source.

Not for navigation. Readings can be late, missing or wrong; check official marine forecasts before going to sea.

Buoy terms

Significant height: The average of the biggest third of waves the buoy measured. Sets in the surf zone can be bigger or smaller.
Dominant period: Seconds between the waves carrying the most energy. Longer period means more power and more bend around points.
Swell vs wind waves: Swell was made by distant wind; wind waves were made nearby. The buoy splits its spectrum at a cutoff period to report each.
Direction: Where waves come from, in degrees true. 270° is from the west.